Affordable rent through a HOUSING association - UC help!!?

funkypophello

Hi all. Writing on behalf of mum. 

We’re currently in a social housing rented place which is roughly £450 per month. We are moving as it’s a very long story but our mental health is deteriorating living here.

We’re moving to a different borough two hours away from our current place into an affordable rented house through a house and association. The rent for this new flat is almost double what we pay here. My mum is on benefits she gets pip and universal credit which covers the housing costs here. We are wondering if universal credit will cover the full affordable rent in our new flats? 

We spoke to citizens advice who basically questioned whether universal credit have agreed to pay our housing costs which I found very strange as universal credit help with Housing cost regardless and my mum is on pip and gets some mobility and daily living element but I think people are confused when it comes to the affordable rent side of things because it is still through a housing association and we get repairs done through them et cetera et cetera it’s just a higher rent than social rent

Please could somebody kindly advise on this situation and give us some advice as we just want to make sure we are making the correct decision and we want to make sure that even though we are moving out of choice to a more expensive area and more expensive property that it will still be covered by universal credit

powerspowers

Just to double check, you are completely renting and not purchasing a share in the property? 

I can’t see why UC wouldn’t cover the housing costs. You do need to check the local housing rate on here https://lha-direct.voa.gov.uk/search.aspx as there’s a limit you can claim. 

Good luck with the move

HillStreetBlues

powerspowers said:

Just to double check, you are completely renting and not purchasing a share in the property? 

I can’t see why UC wouldn’t cover the housing costs. You do need to check the local housing rate on here https://lha-direct.voa.gov.uk/search.aspx as there’s a limit you can claim. 

Good luck with the move

The LHA applies to private landlords.

funkypophello said:

Hi all. Writing on behalf of mum. 

We’re currently in a social housing rented place which is roughly £450 per month. We are moving as it’s a very long story but our mental health is deteriorating living here.

We’re moving to a different borough two hours away from our current place into an affordable rented house through a house and association. The rent for this new flat is almost double what we pay here. My mum is on benefits she gets pip and universal credit which covers the housing costs here. We are wondering if universal credit will cover the full affordable rent in our new flats? 

We spoke to citizens advice who basically questioned whether universal credit have agreed to pay our housing costs which I found very strange as universal credit help with Housing cost regardless and my mum is on pip and gets some mobility and daily living element but I think people are confused when it comes to the affordable rent side of things because it is still through a housing association and we get repairs done through them et cetera et cetera it’s just a higher rent than social rent

Please could somebody kindly advise on this situation and give us some advice as we just want to make sure we are making the correct decision and we want to make sure that even though we are moving out of choice to a more expensive area and more expensive property that it will still be covered by universal credit

As your mother will have a community landlord, so will be based on actual rent and bedrooms.
If the Bedroom Tax doesn't apply to the your mother then full rent will be paid, as long as it doesn't include a service charge for certain things like heating, water or lighting in your home (there are others).

freesha

The full rent will be paid in full as long as there are no spare bedrooms or a non-dependent deduction. LHA does not apply to social landlords.

poppy12345

freesha said:

The full rent will be paid in full as long as there are no spare bedrooms or a non-dependent deduction. LHA does not apply to social landlords.

As the mother is receiving daily living PIP there would be no non dependent deductions. 

Newcad

You have to bear in mind that many Housing Associations do Private Rentals as well as Social Rentals. (Mine does).

So you can't just assume that all HA housing is Social Housing.

In this case as the new rent will be almost double the current social rent I'd want to make sure if the new place will be a Private Rental (and so subject to LHA) or a Social one.

I have doubts that any "Affordable Housing" scheme is a Social Rental.
Although my social tenancy is called 'Affordable Rents' so there can be some confusion..

However @funkypophello says themselves "..it's just a higher rent than social rent." Indicating that they believe it is a private rental and not a social rental.
A private rental will be subject to LHA, so unlikely that the full rent will be covered by UC.

In the end they need to clarify with the HA just which type of rental it is - private or social.
If it's private then they may not be able to afford it.

funkypophello

Newcad said:

You have to bear in mind that many Housing Associations do Private Rentals as well as Social Rentals. (Mine does).

So you can't just assume that all HA housing is Social Housing.

In this case as the new rent will be almost double the current social rent I'd want to make sure if the new place will be a Private Rental (and so subject to LHA) or a Social one.

I have doubts that any "Affordable Housing" scheme is a Social Rental.
Although my social tenancy is called 'Affordable Rents' so there can be some confusion..

However @funkypophello says themselves "..it's just a higher rent than social rent." Indicating that they believe it is a private rental and not a social rental.
A private rental will be subject to LHA, so unlikely that the full rent will be covered by UC.

In the end they need to clarify with the HA just which type of rental it is - private or social.
If it's private then they may not be able to afford it.

I don’t think it is private as the tenancy we are given after a year is an assured one. So surely if this was private then we wouldn’t be given an assured (lifelong) tenancy? Also if it was private we wouldn’t be able to make adaptions? We can with permission.

this is social housing I’m assuming due to the above factors. 

huckster

Best not to make assumptions. Ask the Housing Association.

poppy12345

One thing that I don't think has been asked. If you will be living with your mum and you're not a dependent  child will you be named on the tenancy agreement? Or have a tenancy agreement of your own? If so then you will be liable for 50% of the rent. 

nannytone_2

I agree with poppy.  Is it a joint tenancy or your mums tenancy

Newcad

funkypophello

I don’t think it is private as the tenancy we are given after a year is an assured one. So surely if this was private then we wouldn’t be given an assured (lifelong) tenancy? Also if it was private we wouldn’t be able to make adaptions? We can with permission.

this is social housing I’m assuming due to the above factors. 

Being an assured tenancy is a good sign that it is indeed a social rental.

But I'd still want to get my ducks in a row and double check with the HA.

As the others have said who is named as being the tenant(s) can also make a difference to benefits, so double check that too.